Marjorie is born into a traditional Jewish family living well in the fashionable "West End" of New York City and grows into a teenager filled with dreams of stardom. Beautiful and somewhat talented, she attends Hunter College, a free public university, and socializes with other well-to-do Jewish students, who primarily attend Columbia University. Her desire to pursue acting and singing take her into a somewhat different social set, introduced to her by classmate Marsha Zelenko. Through Marsha, Marjorie eventually meets Noel Airman, "black sheep" son of Judge Ehrmann. Marjorie becomes obsessed with Noel and spends five years of her life pursuing her idealized version of the man she believes, in her immaturity, that he can become.